Capacities

Pewter measures used in trade for dispensing liquids had to conform to the prescribed capacity standard. As tankards and mugs could sometimes be used for dispensing, they too conformed to the relevant standard. However, there have been many different standards over the years. Here are the main ones you may encounter.

The capacities are given in millilitres (or cc – they’re the same thing). Vessel capacities are rarely 100% accurate, but most will be within a tolerance of -2% to +5% of the standard and the ‘range’ shows this tolerance.

Standard

Used

Gill *

½ pint

Pint

Quart

ml

range

ml

range

ml

range

ml

range

Imperial

From 1826

142

139-149

284

278-298

568

557-597

1137

1114-1193

Old English Ale

Up to 1826

144

142-152

289

283-303

578

566-606

1155

1132-1213

Old English Wine

Up to 1826; also used in Scotland

118

116-124

237

232-248

473

464-497

946

927-994

Reputed measure

Erratically, up to c1900

95

93-99

189

186-199

379

371-398

758

743-796

Winchester

Erratically up to 1826

139

137-146

279

273-293

558

546-586

1115

1093-1171

Henry VII Wine

Northern England up to 1826

126

123-132

252

246-264

503

493-528

1006

986-1056

15 fl oz pint

Northern England up to c1800

107

104-112

213

209-224

426

418-448

852

835-895

Irish

Up to at least 1801

111

109-117

223

218-234

446

437-468

891

874-936

Gill

½ mutchkin

Mutchkin

Chopin

Scots Stirling (wine)

In Scotland to 1826

106

104-112

212

208-223

425

417-446

850

833-893

Scots Ale

In Scotland to 1826, for ale

226

221-237

452

443-475

904

886-949

* In Ireland, often called a noggin or naggin

Because of the tolerances one cannot always determine which capacity standard was used. For example, it is impossible to say whether a measure with a capacity of 580 ml is Imperial, Old English Ale or even Winchester standard. To confuse matters still further, some of the pre-1826 standards varied in different parts of the country, so a measure might have been made to a standard but still fall outside the tolerance ranges indicated above. There were other standards as well, many of them local, but pewter measures using them are rarely encountered.

Here is the same information in fluid ounces.
This table doesn’t include the ranges, but it is important to bear them in mind.

Standard

Used

Gill

½ pint

Pint

Quart

GB

US

GB

US

GB

US

GB

US

Imperial

From 1826

5.0

4.8

10.0

9.6

20.0

19.2

40.0

38.4

Old English Ale

Up to 1826

5.1

4.9

10.2

9.8

20.3

19.5

40.7

39.1

Old English Wine

Up to 1826; also used in Scotland

4.2

4.0

8.3

8.0

16.7

16.0

33.3

32.0

Reputed measure

Erratically, up to c1900

3.3

3.2

6.7

6.4

13.3

12.8

26.7

25.6

Winchester

Erratically up to 1826

4.9

4.7

9.8

9.4

19.6

18.9

39.3

37.7

Henry VII Wine

Northern England up to 1826

4.4

4.3

8.8

8.5

17.6

17.0

35.4

34.0

15 fl oz pint

Northern England up to c1800

3.8

3.6

7.5

7.2

15.0

14.4

30.0

28.8

Irish

Up to at least 1801

3.9

3.8

7.8

7.5

15.7

15.1

31.4

30.1

Gill

½ mutchkin

Mutchkin

Chopin

Scots Stirling

In Scotland to 1826

3.7

3.6

7.5

7.2

15.0

14.4

29.9

27.7

Scots Ale

In Scotland to 1826, for ale

8.0

7.6

15.9

15.3

31.8

30.6

Help from the Pewter Society

The Society is willing to help members of the public identify individual items of pewter if we can.

This service is free, but it is not available to dealers nor to individuals if the sole purpose of the identification is to facilitate the sale of the item.